On March 3, the School of Materials Science and Engineering (PKU) held its 2026 Spring Strategic Seminar to discuss the School’s 15th Five-Year Development Plan and key priorities for 2026. Members of the School’s Party and administrative leadership team, heads of departments and institutes, and administrative staff attended the meeting. Xia Dingguo, Deputy Director of the Division of Engineering, and Zou Ruqiang, Dean of the School, were present. The meeting was chaired by Li Ming, Secretary of the School’s Party Committee.
At the beginning of the meeting, participants were briefed on the key messages from the university’s meeting of mid-level administrators and the spring semester work deployment meeting, as well as the 2026 spring semester safety and operational work meeting. Relevant documents on carrying out educational initiatives to establish and practice a correct perspective on political performance were also studied.
Meeting scene
Vice Deans Lei Ting and Zhou Huanping, Deputy Party Secretaries Guo Shaojun and Zhang Jing, and Assistant Deans Dou Jinhu, Zhao Xiaoxu, and Liu Lei delivered thematic reports centered on the theme “Year of Management Quality and Efficiency” and the School’s strategic planning for the current semester. Lei Ting elaborated on talent cultivation, emphasizing that talent is the foundation of development and that outcome-oriented education should be strengthened to better serve the overall advancement of academic disciplines. Zhang Jing focused on student affairs, publicity, and the work of the Engineering Innovation Education Center, stressing the importance of meticulous implementation and innovative advancement in alignment with university requirements. Guo Shaojun discussed personnel affairs, faculty ethics and discipline inspection, postdoctoral programs, labor union and retired staff services, and academic journals, proposing measures such as strengthening the mentorship system and improving the faculty quality framework. Zhou Huanping explored disciplinary development, research platform construction, and international affairs in the context of evolving global innovation paradigms, highlighting the need to pursue breakthroughs in internationalization and AI for Science (AI4S).Liu Lei addressed industry–academia–research collaboration, emphasizing the importance of enhancing synergy among these sectors.
Zou Ruqiang delivered the concluding remarks. He noted that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the School should actively promote a transformation of scientific research paradigms, guided by major national strategic needs, and systematically enhance the integration and effectiveness of technological innovation and industrial innovation, striving to become a leading force in Peking University’s “New Engineering” initiative. He emphasized that faculty and students across the School should work with diligence and unity, fully leveraging the achievements of thematic initiatives such as the “Year of Discipline Quality” and the “Year of Technological Innovation.” Efforts should be accelerated to support high-level scientific and technological self-reliance, upgrade both domestic and international exchanges and cooperation, and promote higher-quality development of the School of Materials Science and Engineering from this new starting point. These efforts will contribute new and greater achievements toward the university’s strategic goal of entering the ranks of the world’s leading universities by 2030.
